The theme of this year’s event is “Havana Nights,” and all proceeds will benefit Trinity Services in its mission to help people with disabilities and mental illness so that they may flourish and live full and abundant lives.

Guests will enjoy cocktails, fine dining, silent and live auctions, and live music by The Connexion Band, including oldies, pop, rock, R&B and more.

Mobile bidding will be available to all attendees for the silent auction, conveniently letting bidders know via a text message when someone has outbid them.

Tickets for the event are $100 each and can be purchased by visiting www.trinity-services.org.

Those interested in helping in other ways are welcome to become an event sponsor, purchase an ad in the event program book, or donate a new item for the live or silent auctions.

For additional information about the Dinner Dance or how to get involved, visit www.trinity-services.org or call (815) 717-3750.

Trinity Services, Inc. is a 67-year-old, nonsectarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children and adults with developmental disabilities and mental illness flourish and live full and abundant lives. Trinity serves more than 3,500 people in 31 communities in Will, Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Peoria, Jackson, Madison and St. Clair counties, and Reno, Nevada. To learn more, visit www.trinity-services.org.

He spends every weekend and each opportunity he gets on nice days to ride local trails, and enjoy the feeling of the wind rushing past and the gentle coasting of his red, three-wheeled vehicle. One of his favorite places to ride is Old Plank Road Trail, near his Frankfort home.

Tony appreciates the recreational and health benefits of cycling so much that he recently worked with Trinity Services staff members to share this experience with others through the creation of Trinity’s first Bike Club.

The club had its inaugural meeting in a coned-off section of the parking lot of Trinity’s Corporate Center in New Lenox. The traffic-free space allowed cycling aficionados free reign to cruise and cycling newcomers the chance to try something new.

Since that first meeting, dozens of people supported by Trinity Services have met at the club’s bimonthly meetings to enjoy gentle exercise, recreation and relaxation together.

The group has a variety of cycles to choose from — bicycles, tricycles and even a tandem bicycle that can be used alongside a Trinity staff member. The cost of the bicycles was covered by a generous grant from the Sage Foundation.

Meetings are facilitated by Elise English, the coordinator of Trinity’s Social Center, which opened last year to host and organize a multitude of group activities for the people Trinity supports to enjoy together.

Tony said he was very excited that the inaugural meeting of the Bike Club was able to draw such a successful turnout, and he looks forward to what the future holds, including introducing cycling to even more members of the Trinity community.

Another goal for the future is for members of the club to travel trails together, particularly once more members have mastered controlling speed, braking and, for those who choose to ride two-wheeled cycles, balancing, according to Mike Chandler, a program coordinator in Trinity’s Network III, who worked with Tony to launch the club.

The Trinity Bike Club is open to everyone supported by Trinity Services and meets roughly every other week.

Trinity Services, Inc. is a 67-year-old, nonsectarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children and adults with developmental disabilities and mental illness flourish and live full and abundant lives. Trinity serves more than 3,500 people in 31 communities in Will, Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Peoria, Jackson, Madison and St. Clair counties, and Reno, Nevada. To learn more, visit www.trinity-services.org.

Tony sits atop his red cycle at the inaugural meeting of the Trinity Bike Club in New Lenox.

Do you know that what we do is messy? Did you ever notice that what we set out to do each morning doesn’t get done? Michael Carroll has made the observation that “work by its nature will always be uncertain.”

So, if you would agree that our days are filled with interruptions, unexpected demands, hurting employees and sometimes six-inch snow falls, wouldn’t you also agree that how we communicate with one another is extremely important?

It’s my contention that people have problems communicating openly and clearly if they themselves are not open. When people are open, they are mindful, they are in the present. They’re noticing the right things including the nature of their actions and interactions. This openness sets the stage for productive communication. Great communication occurs when people feel listened to, not just talked to. Smoothly functioning organizations encourage and foster four-way communication:

From managers to employees

From employees to managers

From managers to managers

From employees to employees

In organizations that communicate well, management informs staff fully about numbers, finances and other necessary information, as well as the stories behind any purposed changes. At Trinity, for instance, our leadership group meets every week. In this forum, we share information, make plans, review key performance indicators, follow up on loose ends and, generally speaking, joke and laugh a lot.

In organizations that function and communicate well, people feel connected and a part of the team because they know what’s going on. They know that “yes” means “yes and “no” means “no.” Both leaders and employees avoid reinforcing rumors and frown on gossip. They feel respected because they know the “why” of things and receive feedback in a timely fashion and appropriate ways. Why? So they know how they are doing, what to correct and what to do more of – and so they feel valued.

In openly communicating organizations, trust and honesty are apparent. Honesty assures that everything is above board and that there are no hidden agendas. Staff know that consequences match performance and that what is communicated verbally or in writing is followed by action whether positive or negative. This creates a trust between coworkers that allows them to speak up and disagree without fear of punishment. Furthermore, there is no great need to close doors; staff and clients can see who they are and where they are.

NOTE: This is Part 3 of a 10-part series on Trinity's Core Values.
To read Part 1 on Servant Leadership, click here.
To read Part 2 on Serving and Supporting, click here.

Serving and supporting is about the actual work of the organization; it’s our purpose and our mission—to help people with disabilities live full and abundant lives. A major component of abundant living involves the ability—and opportunity—to relate to other people and enjoy the benefits of being part of a community. Stated from an ethical, socially responsible perspective, achieving this objective requires that staff in our organization assist people with disabilities to achieve their personal goals and address those behaviors that prevent them from becoming physically or psychologically close to other people. Key to that purpose is the work of our direct support staff.

Therefore, their work involves bathing, feeding, toileting, cooking, cleaning, passing meds, taking blood pressures, giving shots and doing health assessments. It also includes carrying out written programs, job coaching, teaching a class, counseling, doing group and individual therapy, doing functional analysis and developing behavior support plans, or carrying out the curriculum in the adult day programs. It’s what we do.

We believe the rest of us should be supporting these people, who, after all, make our jobs and our achievements possible. So we’ve tailored our business office practices, employee services, administration and staff development around the direct support staff and their needs. We work, for example, to make sure there are convenient short-term parking spots at our administrative buildings. We try to reduce paperwork and other bureaucratic hurdles. And if someone needs something, we don’t ask them to come back later because we’re on our way to lunch. We strive to serve and support people to the best of our ability and with the best and most promising practices.

Those same commitments to service and support inform relationships and interactions in individual departments. While coworkers have specific responsibilities, they endeavor to avoid the tunnel vision that can separate them. They recognize that no completed task stands alone; it is part of a whole that advances the mission of the organization. With this in mind, they also share information and offer aid when it is needed. Henry Ford stated it well when he said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”

NOTE: This is Part 2 of a 10-part series on Trinity's Core Values. To read Part 1, click here.

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Upcoming Events

We feel privileged to be celebrating our 67th year of providing supports and services for people with developmental disabilities and mental illness. Since first opening our doors as a small school, Trinity Services has been committed to helping individuals flourish and lead more independent lives. We now serve more than 3,500 people through an array of innovative programs. This would not be possible without generous supporters like you.

We hope you will join us for an evening of entertainment, fine dining, dancing, and silent and live auctions at our 28th Annual Dinner Dance & Auction, Saturday, Sept. 16, at Odyssey Country Club in Tinley Park. This year's theme is "Havana Nights."